About half of the beach access stairs along Coast Boulevard in La Jolla are closed off following the shuttering of the stairways at Shell Beach and South Casa Beach because of damage from this winter’s storms.
There is no timetable for when the stairs may be repaired and reopened, according to San Diego city spokesman Tyler Becker.
Earlier this year, the bases of the beach access stairs at South Casa Beach next to the Children’s Pool lifeguard tower and at Shell Beach at Scripps Park were damaged by storms and closed by the city using a chain and sign.
The Shell Beach stairs also are closed off by construction fencing associated with ongoing work to move the sidewalk there away from an eroding bluff.
When city crews closed the staircases, an assessment was conducted to find out what repairs would be needed.
“It was determined that repairing the steps is beyond the capacity and capabilities of the Parks & Recreation Department, so a request had been made for it to be evaluated by the Transportation and/or Engineering & Capital Projects departments,” said city spokesman Benny Cartwright.
In addition to the two damaged stairways, the beach access stairs adjacent to Point La Jolla are off limits as part of the area’s year-round closure to keep humans and sea lions apart. That closure, which began last year, came after months of reports of people going onto the rocks at Point La Jolla and bothering — in some cases harming — sea lions and their pups. The closure is implemented through signs, a chain across the wooden access stairway and two K-rail barriers on the western end of the closure area. The beach can be accessed there for recreation via a makeshift trail.
Though the ocean is still visible from all of Coast Boulevard, the two most recent stairway closures mean the closest remaining open beach access stairs are at La Jolla Cove and the La Jolla tide pools, which are nearly a mile apart. ◆
